Holiday Double Bill FAMILY ACTIVITY GUIDE The Story...........................................2 About the Author..............................4 VPL Recomended Reading List...............6 About the Production........................7 Activities...........................................14 Crafts................................................19 Recipes..............................................22 Theatre Etiquette..............................23 1 carouseltheatre.ca The Story Overview Experience the ups and downs of everyday life Then join Charlie Brown in A Charlie Brown with Charlie Brown and his friends in You’re A Christmas as he tries to direct his friends in the Good Man Charlie Brown. When your friends school Christmas pageant. With help from his are the Peanuts gang, no day is ever ordinary, friends and a ragged little tree, Charlie Brown and somewhere between Beethoven’s Birthday, discovers what the season is really all about. peanut butter sandwiches, and team baseball, Charlie Brown and the gang learn about the joys of friendship and stumble upon the true meaning of happiness. Synopsis You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown Snoopy basks in the predictability of her life noticing all the little things that make life “not bad All his friends say, “You’re a good man, Charlie at all.” Brown!” but what does that really mean? And so a series of typical days begin where Charlie Brown When Charlie finds a chewed-up pencil and his friends think about things big and small. belonging to the little red-haired girl he realizes that happiness is “anything big and small that’s Does eating peanut butter sandwiches mean loved by you!” you’re lonely? Charlie Brown thinks they do. And why will the cute red-haired little girl not notice him, then again, why would she? Lucy continues her extremely one-sided romance with Schroeder pondering their future together as the piano prodigy plays the piano, oblivious to her advances. Charlie A Charlie’s little sister, Sally, struggles with the futility of swings, coat-hanger structures and spilled ice cream but ultimately finds her very own philosophy. Lucy’s brother Linus just isn’t (2016) Photo: Tim Matheson Tim (2016) Photo: ready to part with his blanket despite his sister’s prompting but when Lucy hits a low he is the one who’s there to boost her spirits. Rebecca Talbot and Andrew Cownden in Cownden and Andrew Talbot Rebecca Christmas Brown Throughout the ups and downs of each day the friends ride the joys and mishaps of life together. 2 carouseltheatre.ca Synopsis continued A Charlie Brown Christmas Schroeder plays Lucy the music he has selected for the pageant, which features Beethoven. It is Christmas time, and Snoopy and his friends Charlie Brown and Linus return with the little are enjoying the season while skating. Charlie Christmas tree. The gang thinks it is all wrong, Brown isn’t feeling the spirit. He tells Linus that and tell Charlie Brown he is completely hopeless. he enjoys the activities of the holiday, but it Charlie Brown decides he really does not doesn’t make him feel happy. He visits Lucy at her understand what Christmas is about. Linus says Doctor’s Booth to ask for advice. She tells him he will explain, and he tells the story of the that he needs to be more involved and suggests nativity. Peace on Earth, good will towards man. he direct the gang’s Christmas pageant. Charlie Brown looks at his little tree and decides Charlie Brown’s little sister Sally asks him to help to decorate it, but the ornament makes it sag her write a letter to Santa. Sally asks for a long list even more. Defeated, he leaves the tree behind. of presents, or money instead. Charlie Brown is Linus finds the tree, and decides what it needs disappointed that even his own sister is focused is “a little love.” With the help of Snoopy and only on getting presents. the kids, the tree is transformed into a beautiful Christmas tree. When Charlie Brown returns, the At rehearsal for the pageant, the gang is gang wishes him a Merry Christmas and together disappointed that Charlie Brown will be their they all discover that kindness, warmth and director, but he gets down to business and hands happiness are what the holidays are about. out the roles. The group dawdles and delays until lunch break. Charlie Brown decides that to set the proper mood, he should bring in a Christmas tree. Lucy suggests he get a “great, big, shiny aluminum Christmas tree.” Linus and Charlie Brown go to buy a Christmas tree from a large selection. Charlie Brown chooses a little green one that he feels is just right – “Besides,” he says, “I think it needs me.” (2016) A Charlie Brown Christmas Charlie Brown A Andrew Cownden in Cownden Andrew Matheson Tim Photo: 3 carouseltheatre.ca About the Author Charles Monroe Schulz (1922-2000) Charles Monroe Schulz (November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000), nicknamed Sparky, was an American cartoonist best known for the beloved comic strip Peanuts, featuring the characters Charlie Brown and Snoopy, among others). He is widely regarded as one of the most influential cartoonists of all time. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Schulz grew up in Saint Paul. Schulz loved drawing and sometimes drew his family dog, Spike, who ate unusual things, such as pins and tacks. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II in Europe. After the war, Schulz returned to Minneapolis. He worked as an illustrator and art teacher until he was making enough money from comics to be able to do that full-time. His first 5 COOL FACTS one-panel syndicated comic was called Li’l Folks about Charles Schulz and used the name “Charlie Brown” for several different characters and had a dog that looked 1. In high school he signed up for an art school much like Snoopy. that offered students an opportunity to complete lessons by mail. Schulz and his wife had four children. They lived 2. He wanted to call the cartoon Li’l Folks in Minneapolis until 1958 and then moved to and never liked the name Peanuts; a name California, eventually settling in Santa Rosa. assigned by the newspaper. The four-panel comic strip Peanuts made its 3. He loved ice hockey and skating so much first appearance on October 2, 1950, in seven that he built an ice skating arena for the newspapers. After a somewhat slow beginning, community! Peanuts eventually became one of the most popular comic strips of all time. At its height, 4. Schulz served on the board of the Women’s Sports Foundation and supported Peanuts was published daily in 2,600 papers in advances for women in sports, giving voice 75 countries, in 21 languages. Over the nearly 50 to the subject in Peanuts. years that Peanuts was published, Schulz drew nearly 18,000 strips. During the life of the strip, 5. Schulz created “arguably the longest story Schulz took only one vacation, a five-week break ever told by one human being”. in late 1997 to celebrate his 75th birthday. Late in his career, he developed a tremor in his hand that required him to hold his right hand to be able to draw, but he insisted on writing and drawing the comic strip by himself. 4 carouseltheatre.ca About the Author continued TV specials based on Peanuts proved wildly the highest civilian honour in the United States, the successful, beginning with A Charlie Brown Congressional Gold Medal. Schulz was honored Christmas, which aired in December 1965 on May 27, 2000, by cartoonists of more than and won an Emmy award. 100 comic strips, who paid homage to him and Peanuts by incorporating his characters into their Schulz particularly enjoyed ice sports and comic strips on that date. was active in hockey tournaments. Many of his cartoons featured ice skating and hockey. He also enjoyed playing golf and bridge. Like Schroeder, he loved classical music, but preferred Brahms to Beethoven. His favourite artist was American painter Andrew Wyeth. A proponent of manned space flight, Schulz was honored with the naming of Apollo 10 command module Charlie Brown, and lunar module Snoopy, launched on May 18, 1969. Schulz admitted in interviews that, like Charlie Brown, he had often felt shy and withdrawn in his life. In an interview he Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson wrote in observed, “I suppose there’s a melancholy 2007: “Peanuts pretty much defines the modern feeling in a lot of cartoonists, because comic strip, so even now it’s hard to see it with cartooning, like all other humor, comes from fresh eyes. The clean, minimalist drawings, the bad things happening.” sarcastic humor, the unflinching emotional honesty, the inner thoughts of a household pet, the serious treatment of children, the wild fantasies, the merchandising on an enormous scale—in countless ways, Schulz blazed the wide trail that most every cartoonist since has tried to follow.” After he died in 2000, as part of his will, Schulz requested that the Peanuts characters remain as authentic as possible and that no new comic strips based on them be drawn. After his death he was awarded 5 carouseltheatre.ca Recomended Reading List My First Christmas Carols by Tomie DePaola, This sweet collection of Christmas carols is designed for preschoolers and includes classic illustrations by Tomie dePaola. After the play, take this A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles song book home and sing along to M. Schulz some carols with your family! Revisit the story of A Charlie Brown Christmas with this book and CD set. A Coyote Solstice Tale by Thomas King The CD features four songs from the As coyote prepares for a solstice feast, original TV special performed by the he is interrupted by a little girl dressed like a Vince Guaraldi Trio.